


in the snow and the stone

by Pinnacle of Failure (Cromirn)



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Naruto
Genre: Adventure, Background Character Death, Background Relationships, Blood, Gen, Gore, No Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-09-01 15:09:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16767574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cromirn/pseuds/Pinnacle%20of%20Failure
Summary: Sasuke knew he'd have to stop by that place to further his agenda. He knew she was still there, haunting the place like the ghost that she always was. He knew she changed, become something he wasn't, became stronger in ways he couldn't think possible. It was a calculated risk, but now he has to deal with these stupid side quests and these stupid townspeople just so he can kill one man.And man, was it a calculated risk, but it seems that Sakura Haruno, the Healer or Hjaalmarch, Slayer of Dragons, Thane of the Lands, Seamstress of the Spiders Web, has her own agenda.





	in the snow and the stone

**Author's Note:**

> starts off mostly as suigetsu's pov but it should straighten itself out in a chapter or two.

“I don’t understand why you didn’t just take the damned thing. We’re bandits, we don’t have to pretend to be all goodie two shoes and shit just because you have a clan title.” Suigetsu groans, his hands shoved into his armpits and curled into his cloak, “And we should’ve stayed at that inn a little longer, Sasuke, we can’t be out here like this.”

“Sui-Suigetsu is right, Sasuke, as much as he’s an asshole he’s kind of right.” Karin’s voice is muffled by her scarf, but that doesn’t hold back her loud voice.

Sasuke only looks ahead, eyes set on the horizon. He isn’t holding them here anymore, they can leave whenever they want.

“Especially since I’m, like, y’know, made of water, like, I’m surprised that I haven’t frozen over yet.” Suigetsu continues, “See, I’ve got crystals, _see_?”

Suigetsu’s squabbles are drowned out by the wind momentarily, but even the cold doesn’t seem to shut the man up. The snow crunches underneath their heavy footsteps, and, even as they’re prepared for the long travel, their faces are tinted pink and blue.  
“We have to find that claw, Suigetsu, and if we stayed in Winterhold any longer we could miss the damn thing. It took me that long to find it, and I have a reason to believe that it might move soon.” Sasuke says. “We’re heading to Morthal, if I have to remind you.”

Karin groans, “I hate Morthal, Sasuke, it’s infested with vampires and necromancers and-”

“I think we got the point, Karin,” Suigetsu grunts, stumbling over something in the snow, “Morthal is bad, _blah blah blah_.”

“Shut up, Suigetsu, I know what I’m talking about.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t know what you were talking about that time that we had to take out a camp of forsworn because you thought that they were _nice_.”

“I was trading with them! If you hadn’t come up out of nowhere with that fucking sword of yours there wouldn’t have been a fight!”

“Sasuke,” Jugo sighs, blatantly ignoring his companion's words, “We would have to cross over two mountain ridges to get to Morthal, not to mention that there aren’t any other inns on the way there.”

“We will be taking the roads, Jugo, there will be a stop eventually.” With a short sniffle, Sasuke answers,

“But it would be faster to cross the mountains than take the roads. Not to mention safer from other bandits.”

“We don’t have the kind of equipment for traversing over mountains, and I’m sure we can handle ourselves against bandits.”

Jugo stops talking then, and Sasuke knows that he won’t question it any further. Suigetsu and Karin, on the other hand… They are lost in the snow already, Karin unsheathing her silver dagger and Suigetsu trying(and failing) to summon one of his ice familiars.

“Children,” Sasuke says, “I’m being followed by _children_.”

~~~

That night, Suigetsu is in charge of setting up their tents, Jugo is sent out to hunt, and Sasuke helps start a fire. It’s quiet when they do their own thing, and they don’t even mention the missing Karin. She mentioned something about having to find something from her hometown and promised she’ll be at Morthal in a weeks time, which is surprising considering her liking towards Sasuke.

“Sasuke,” Suigetsu says his name like a curse, “I think Karin left her dagger with us.”

Obviously, she’s got more, Sasuke thinks. Then, he remembers that that dagger is the only one she carried on her.

“She’ll be fine,” he says as he pokes at the fire, the flames not yet setting into the logs. Because she will be fine, Karin is a strong woman and can handle herself on her own.

His companion thinks otherwise if that scowl means anything.

“You can go after her, if you want,” His voice remains steady, calm, “but don’t expect that we’ll be here when you come back. If you can find us.”

Suigetsu settles down after that. He likes Sasuke, he really does, but he… Sasuke has his moments when he wants to threaten something.

They don’t speak for the rest of the night.

~~~

They don’t stay long in any village or installment. They sleep when the sun is down and they walk when it’s high in the sky, and it’s not fun without Karin there.

Suigetsu tried to pester Sasuke once, and just that once. He still remembers the red eyes and the fake flames when he closes his eyes, and he ignores it the best he can.

Jugo is too nice to bother, to pick on. He’s yet to go into a rage, and Suigetsu knows what Jugo can do when he’s angry.

Three days have passed, and the cold doesn’t leave their fingers once. One day is obscured by the heavy clouds, and the next is just an empty white sky.

Eventually they do make it to Morthal. Suigetsu’s sure as all hell that he’s already lost, like, three fingers. If not more. It’s so fucking cold he doesn’t know what emotion is anymore. 

The inside of Morthal, somehow, is colder than anything he’s ever felt. He has to stop himself from verbalizing this, because he knows that no matter how cold these places can get that Sasuke’s flames will burn through _anything_.

They stay at an inn. Moorside, it’s called, and it’s anything but. Like most of the village, it’s mostly, if not completely, situated on frosty water. There is no moor close enough to this place, yet Suigetsu can feel the warmth of the thought.

When was the last time he’d been near the planes? At Whiterun or Rorikstead? It’s all a distant thought now.

As he stomps out his boots as he enters the establishment, he realizes that he carries Karin’s dagger with him. Sasuke orders a room for them all, only one room because they can’t afford any more than that. Jugo stands awkwardly between them, the distance spread between them actually making it weirder than he probably thinks.

“Let’s find us some goodies,” he announces loudly, and drops heavily down at a table, his muscles sore as all getup as he begins to shakily relax. “I wanna sleep and I wanna eat and I wanna do all the things a man can do.” He groans loudly as he spreads himself further on the table, propping his head up with a hand. 

He senses Sasuke before he hears him, that strange tingling in his head and the mix of burnt flesh and tingling of the remnants of lightning magick all clusterfucked into one emotion. “I don’t think you’ll be able to find much of that anywhere near here,” he says as he sits down, a good few feet between him and Suigetsu, “the people here are hardy, not known for their acceptance of outsiders and travelers.”

Suigetsu snorts, rolling his eyes, “Well, I’m always up for a challenge.”

Someone squeezes themselves next to him, “Then I hope you know you’ve got yourself a nice competitor, buddy,” her voice flows like the sleek waters of the Rift, “because I haven’t _lost_ in a long time.”

He can feel Sasuke tense behind him, and his leather braces rub against his armor as he grabs for his dagger. “ _What are you doing here,_ ” Sasuke hisses. He’s now pushed Suigetsu away from the pink girl and stands between them. Suigetsu would make a joke about this being abstractly romantic, but he feels that this isn’t the time.

The girl, who’s not even dressed in a damn coat, pushes a lock of pink hair behind an ear, “Well, I _do_ live here.”

“That’s not the point,” Sasuke continues, “What are you _doing_ here, why are you talking to us.”

She hums. “So I’m not supposed to take a nice, relaxing break in the local inn of my hometown? Why, that’s kind of presumptuous of you, Sasuke.”

Sasuke slides out his dagger, the steel glinting in the low light of the tavern, and that’s the first mistake the Uchiha makes. Someone slams their ale on their table, loudly unlatching their weapon from their back, another swipes off their bow and already has a handful of arrows between their fingers, and he can spot some ladies spawn some heavy duty _ebony_ daggers.

They’ve only got themselves and their flimsy steel, and these guys of this rundown village has themselves _ebony_ weapons? _What??_

Suigetsu takes out his own dagger, feeling small and childish as the rusted iron doesn’t even _sparkle_ in the light. Jugo follows in motions, although he does so in a much for refined, alert way.

The girl( _no, it’s a woman, dumbass, that ain’t no girl_ ) smiles a toothy smile and rises from where she sat. “It seems that you’ve changed, my friend. I’ll have you know the only thing that changed about me is my strength and my network. Do whatever you want, and I’ll let you know that I have eyes everywhere.”

“So,” Suigetsu starts, his voice cutting through the atmosphere like cold butter, “Who’s this?”

Sasuke turns his cold eyes to him, and snarls, “That’s Sakura Haruno, or as you know her as, the Healer of Hjaalmarch.”


End file.
